Agency Selects Gotham Organization to Redevelop New York City Transit Mobile Wash Division Site in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Monitor Point to Feature Nearly 900 Mixed-Income Homes, 25 Percent Permanently Affordable, and Over 100,000 sq.ft. of Mixed Retail and Commercial Space
Gotham to Create New Publicly Accessible Open Space, Including a Waterfront Walkway Connecting Quay Street to the Future Bushwick Inlet Park and a New Permanent Home for The Greenpoint Monitor Museum
Monitor Point to Incorporate MTA Emergency Response Unit, Resulting in Expansion of Green Space for Long-Awaited Box Street Park
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that it selected the Gotham Organization (“Gotham”) to redevelop property owned by MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) located at 40 Quay Street in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. 40 Quay Street is currently home to the NYCT Mobile Wash Division, the group responsible for cleaning the subway system.
Gotham will construct a new purpose-built facility for the Mobile Wash Division on a separate property at 208 Varick Avenue in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Following completion of this facility, Gotham will demolish the existing NYCT building at 40 Quay Street and construct a new 840,000±-square-foot mixed-use project — Monitor Point.
Monitor Point will create nearly 900 mixed-income homes, including approximately 25% permanently affordable residences and over 100,000 square feet of mixed retail and commercial space. Gotham will partner with RiseBoro Community Partnership, a local organization that is a leader in providing community-based affordable housing and supportive services, to co-manage the affordable and senior housing portion of this development. Monitor Point will contain substantial publicly accessible open space, including a waterfront public walkway connecting Quay Street to the future Bushwick Inlet Park.
Monitor Point will also contain a new permanent home for The Greenpoint Monitor Museum to be built on the Museum’s land, which shares the launch site of the USS Monitor. The Museum will have a newly constructed, prominent waterfront home on the Bushwick Inlet, allowing it to continue providing educational programming. The museum commemorates the USS Monitor, a steam-powered ironclad warship that fought in the American Civil War at the Battle of Hampton Roads.
Gotham will also build a new facility for the NYCT Emergency Response Unit (ERU) at 40 Quay Street. This new facility will enable the ERU to vacate its current location at 65 Commercial Street, which will in turn allow that property to be incorporated into the future Box Street Park.
“The MTA has a statutory obligation to retrieve market value for disposition of any property,” said MTA Acting Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Gotham’s plan aligns with the vision for this site articulated by Brooklyn Community Board 1. The in-kind improvements and revenue generated will help fund transit system improvements and ensure the MTA continues to deliver reliable service for all riders.”
“While this is the very beginning of a process, and the community’s voice must be central to any discussion moving forward, I want to acknowledge the MTA for putting forward an achievable proposal for relocating the NYCT Emergency Response Unit from Box Street Park, a full 16 years after the City and the MTA committed a full park to the Greenpoint community. The records of Gotham, Riseboro, and the Greenpoint Monitor Museum demonstrate their commitment to listening to and working with the community,” said City Councilmember Stephen Levin.
“Gotham is extremely proud to partner with the MTA to envision such a high-impact development, molded by prioritizing public benefits,” said Gotham Organization President of Development Bryan Kelly. “Monitor Point will create permanent union building maintenance jobs, more than 1,000 construction related jobs, and ongoing land lease payments as a direct benefit to the MTA. It will establish a permanent home for the Greenpoint Monitor Museum; produce a new mixed-income community, with a multigenerational permanently affordable housing component; and create a waterfront linkage between Greenpoint and Williamsburg. None of this could be achieved without a public-private partnership that prioritizes the most robust community benefits program possible.”
“RiseBoro Community Partnership has been revitalizing communities through affordable housing and holistic services for almost 50 years. With its inclusive mixed-use design, deep affordability, and unprecedented level of community benefit, we are excited to be behind a land use action which mandates permanently affordable housing in conjunction with the other public enhancements,” said RiseBoro Community Partnership CEO Scott Short.
“In recognition of the Museum’s educational program and its efforts to establish a home for the Museum at the launch site of the USS Monitor, Motiva Enterprises donated its land on the Bushwick Inlet at 56 Quay Street to the Museum in 2003. The Museum now looks forward to this unique opportunity to establish its home on its donated land and to continue its educational programs within the Greenpoint community and beyond. Thank you Motiva Enterprises, Gotham Organization and the MTA,” said The Greenpoint Monitor Museum President Janice Lauletta-Weinmann.
“Monitor Point is a model of sustainable city-building: a well-conceived blend of vital uses housed in an imaginative design that weaves verdant open spaces and architectural form, supported by resilient and energy-efficient building infrastructure. For the Greenpoint neighborhood, the project delivers connectivity to the waterfront with a generously proportioned public open space at the south end of West Street that leads directly to a new segment of the shore walkway and the future Bushwick Inlet Park beyond. FXCollaborative is thrilled to be part of the Gotham, The Monitor Museum and RiseBoro team. We look forward to working collaboratively with all the stakeholders to see this important project to fruition,” said Dan Kaplan FAIA, Senior Partner, FXCollaborative Architects.
Last month, Gotham announced the development of Gotham Point, in partnership with RiseBoro in the Hunter’s Point South waterfront neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens. Gotham Point consists of two towers, which will include 1,132 total residences with 75% of units priced at affordable rates, senior housing, shared amenities, community facility and retail space.
Information about the proposed Monitor Point development can be found here.
###
About Gotham Organization
Gotham has over 100 years of experience constructing and developing high quality mixed-use buildings throughout New York. Gotham’s long track record of success in developing homes for low, moderate, and middle-income residents in New York City is possible thanks to successful partnerships with public agencies, not-for-profits and property owners. Following development and construction, Gotham’s in-house property management division seamlessly transitions into ongoing building and community management, operating vibrant and engaging communities in the neighborhoods it builds in.
About RiseBoro Community Partnership
Since 1973, RiseBoro Community Partnership has offered services designed to support every generation and meet the needs of communities. Our unique model of holistic community revitalization works by developing neighborhood assets, like affordable housing, to create the foundation for a more vibrant and diverse community. We build upon this foundation with programs designed to connect people to resources to help everyone in the community thrive, especially our most vulnerable populations. This inclusive approach helps unleash the potential of the community and ensures that nobody is left behind in times of growth. Please visit riseboro.org for more information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @RiseBoroNYC to stay abreast of updated information, events, and news.
About Monitor Museum
April 24, 2021 marked the 25th Anniversary of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York approval of The Greenpoint Monitor Museum’s Provisional Charter.
Since 1996 the Museum has partnered with Oliver Tilden Camp No. 26, Co. I 83rd NYVI SVR of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary keeping alive the memory of the USS Monitor, John Ericsson her designer, her builders and crew and all who fought to save the Union and end slavery during the Civil War. Together they participated in the Museum’s Road Show School Program from its classrooms at PS110 “The Monitor School” and MS126 “John Ericsson School”. The Museum has participated in USS Monitor Expeditions off Cape Hatteras including the recovery of the ship’s turret and engine. NOAA representatives have participated in Museum events in Greenpoint including the USS Monitor’s 150th Anniversary.
In recognition of the importance of the Museum site, NOAA installed a “USS Monitor Trail Marker” on the site to serve as a connection to other historic USS Monitor sites. To learn more about the Museum see the Museum’s website at http://greenpointmonitormuseum.org.